Issa Aremu
The
newly inaugurated Bismarck Rewane-led Technical Advisory Committee
on the implementation of a National Minimum Wage recently
inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to
facilitate the full implementation of the negotiated N30,000 and not
undermine the implementation of the news minimum wage.
Comrade
Issa Aremu, NEC member of NLC and labour representative on the
National Income and wages commission made this disclosure on
Wednesday. He said to the extent that the new Technical Committee
was mandated to anticipate the implications of the new minimum wage
increase for the upward “salary review for all the workers who are
already earning above the new minimum wage”, it was commendable.
He also observed that it was reassuring “that President Muhammad
Buhari reaffirmed commitment to the new minimum wage with the
discussion with organized labour to send the Executive bill to that
effect before January 23rd.”
Comrade
Aremu who is also the Labour Party gubernatorial candidate in Kwara
state noted that while Bismarck technical Committee was made
up of eminent experts but it was desirable that the
representatives of organized labour were parties to the
implementation of what he called “critical labour market issues
like minimum wage and slavery review for other categories of workers
earning above the minimum”. “Indeed ideally the best statutory
committee to drive the mandate of the Bismarck Committee would have
been National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission
(NSIWC).” he said.
According
to him the 25 year-old Commission provides technical input to
the work of Tripartite Committees on the determination and fixing of
the National Minimum Wage (NMW), made up of government, the
Organised Labour and Organised Employers. The Commission he
recalled had performed this singular role during the work of the
Tripartite Committee of year 2000 that fixed the National Minimum
Wage at N5,500, that of the year 2011 that fixed the National
Minimum Wage of N18,000 per month. The Executive Chairman of
the Commission, Chief Richard Ebule served as a
Member/Secretary to the Tripartite Committee inaugurated by Mr.
President on 27th November 2017 which midwives the New
National Minimum Wage of N30,000. The Commission as in previous
occasions, also provided the Secretariat to the Committee.
Commission had provided technical inputs and compensation
architecture that led to the creation of new pay structures for the
Public Service.
Other
members of the Riwane Committee include former Chairman of the
Federal Inland Revenue Service, Dr Babatunde Fowler, ex-FIRS boss,
Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, Dr Ayo Teriba, Chief Executive Officer
among other and Prof. Akpan Ekpo. From the public sector are:
Chairman FIRS, Dr Babatunde Fowler, Director General of Budget
Office, Ben Akabueze, who is the secretary of the committee,
representative of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Chairman of the
National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, Richard Egbule,
Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office of the Head of Service of
the Federation, Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, Permanent Secretary General
Service Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Olusegun Adekunle, Permanent Secretary Ministry of
Finance, Dr. Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, Permanent Secretary Ministry of
Budget and National Planning, Olajide Odewale, Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Labour Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, and Solicitor General Of the
Federation and Permanent Secretary ministry of Justice Mr. Dayo
Apata. Others are Special Adviser to the President on Economic
Matters, office of the Vice President, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu, Deputy
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Economic Policy Dr. Joseph
Nnanna, Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, Director
General Debt Management Officer, Ms. Patience Oniaga, Director
General National Institute of Social and Economic Research, Dr.
Folarin Gbadebo-Smith, Statistician General, National Bureau of
Statistics, Dr. Yemi Kale, Mrs. Aisha Hamad, Mamman Garba and Tunde
Lawal.
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